Michelle Obama's DNC Speech Met With Rave Reviews
First Lady Michelle Obama gave a speech to the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday that was met by thunderous applause, emotional tears, and rave reviews.
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Robert Siegel.
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
And I'm Melissa Block.
First Lady Michelle Obama took a kind of victory lap today at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte after bringing down the house last night with a speech lauding the strengths of her husband. Today, the first lady addressed groups of African-American, Hispanic and LGBT delegates. NPR's David Welna reports.
DAVID WELNA, BYLINE: Michelle Obama's first stop today was a meeting of the African-American caucus, who account for about a quarter of the convention's delegates.
MICHELLE OBAMA: So how about that opening night, huh?
(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING)
OBAMA: Yeah. Yeah. I don't know about you, but the energy, the enthusiasm that we saw last night made it clear that folks are pretty fired up.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING)
WELNA: And especially fired up over the first lady's speech last night. Four years ago, she was panned as a reluctant campaigner - not anymore. Jackie Ramirez is a delegate from north Las Vegas.
JACKIE RAMIREZ: The first lady was just wonderful. She knows what the community needs and what the community wants.
WELNA: For Arizona delegate Zeke Gebrekidane the speech was about family.
ZEKE GEBREKIDANE: It's just incredible for the African-American family, not only African-American family, but for family across America that are struggling, and she spoke to their heart. She spoke to the heart of the country.
WELNA: But Mrs. Obama's message today was all about taking the fight forward.
OBAMA: Are you fired up?
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Yeah.
OBAMA: Are you ready to go?
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Yeah.
OBAMA: Let me tell you, I am so fired up. Can you tell?
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Yeah.
OBAMA: I am so ready to go because this is about our future. This is about our sons and our daughters. And as I said last night, it's about the world we want to leave for them, long after we're gone. So we're going to have to roll up our sleeves. Roll them up. Get it done. Sixty-two days is nothing. But if we have all of you and everyone you know, we will get this done.
WELNA: David Welna, NPR News, Charlotte.
Copyright © 2012 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.